Chapter 140

"I mean, no death—directly turning into a Hollow." Kuchiki Senya said lightly.

"What?!" Urahara Kisuke dropped straight onto his backside on the ground.

He stared at Kuchiki Senya in shock—what secret could this man know, to be able to say something like that?

"Roar!" At this moment the Vasto Lorde before them flew into a rage once again.

086. Kuchiki Senya, you have betrayed Soul Society.

"Not good! This monster can't be killed!" Kuchiki Bai Zai's expression changed sharply.

Kuchiki Senya shook his head—when would this little brother of his manage to grow up even a little.

"Heaven-Severing Myriad Forms, Condense!" Kuchiki Senya barked coldly.

He was a man bearing a System; his growth attributes had long since surpassed an ordinary Shinigami's. It could be said that in all of the Living World, Hueco Mundo, and Soul Society, none possessed a faster growth of spiritual pressure than he.

From the tip of his Zanpakuto emerged one black and one white wisp of sword Qi; the two wisps of sword Qi wrapped directly around the Vasto Lorde before him, and the surrounding space seemed on the verge of collapse, crushing madly toward that Vasto Lorde.

"Roar!" Another furious howl—the Vasto Lorde before them was already unable to fight on.

It tore open space in an attempt to escape, but those two streams of sword Qi actually caused the space to collapse outright, preventing it from gathering spatial power again.

In the end, this Vasto Lorde dissolved into specks of starlight in despair, and finally crumbled away completely.

"Boom!" When the sword Qi faded, the surrounding space twisted once more, and tremors rippled out for several li in every direction.

"Whoosh whoosh!" At this moment, members of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads appeared all around.

"He's here!" Someone spotted Kuchiki Senya at a glance.

They ringed him in layer upon layer, every one of them watching Kuchiki Senya warily.

After all, the Kuchiki Senya before them had already been designated the highest level of threat; the last time Soul Society had such a high alert level was during the Yhwach era.

"My my, how did things get so messy?" Kyoraku Shunsui's voice rang out.

He emerged from the shadows, having been hiding within Kuchiki Senya's very shadow; the moment Kuchiki Senya made the slightest suspicious move, he could strike in an instant.

"Don't move. Move and you die." Unohana Retsu gripped a slender Zanpakuto, hovering above Kuchiki Senya.

Renji Abarai—no, wait—Rojuro Otoribashi and Hirako Shinji stood shoulder to shoulder, glaring at Kuchiki Senya with predatory focus.

Kuchiki Senya looked at the crowd, his eyes full of an amused smile.

"Tch, to receive such earnest attention from the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads—I'm truly flattered." Kuchiki Senya regarded the assembled captains with amusement in his eyes.

Nearly all the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had gathered; only old man Yamamoto had yet to appear.

"Captain, please hear me out!" Urahara Kisuke hurried forward.

He looked at the crowd, his eyes brimming with bitterness.

"Lord Kuchiki is not a bad person. Just now a Vasto Lorde-class Menos appeared, and he was the one who saved us!" Urahara Kisuke shouted quickly.

Hearing this, the others frowned, looking at him in confusion.

Urahara Kisuke hurriedly told them what had just happened, and also relayed Kuchiki Senya's conjecture.

"What did you say? A human? Directly turning into a Hollow?" Kyoraku Shunsui was stunned.

His stubbled face momentarily froze; he had a vague sense that he had indeed heard of such a thing happening before.

"See for yourselves." Kuchiki Senya spoke lightly.

With a flick of his wrist, he produced a perfectly preserved heart.

"This heart has not yet been fully corroded, but the Hollow power on it—you should feel it more clearly than I do." Kuchiki Senya said lightly.

This was the evidence he had kept when he had just finished off that Vasto Lorde.

How could a Hollow have a heart?

The reason a Hollow becomes a Hollow is precisely because it has lost its heart, and with it its direction; only by harboring obsession does one transform into a Hollow.

"I never imagined it would come to this… a human directly turned into a Hollow, and one that evolved into a Vasto Lorde—how is that possible?" Kyoraku Shunsui shuddered all over.

The remaining captains all realized the gravity of the situation, and their hostility toward Kuchiki Senya eased somewhat.

"Captains, I—I need to go pay my respects to the my lord of the Zero Division—Yoruichi, she can't hold on!" Urahara Kisuke finally said hurriedly.

With his status, gaining an audience with the Zero Division was clearly going to be difficult.

The Fourth Division was the medical squad; at this time its captain was still Shijima Osamu, and the revered Unohana Retsu still bore the title of Kenpachi.

"Hm? Is this Hollowfication setting in?" Shijima Osamu was startled; he quickly stepped forward and unleashed his Shinigami power.

But the next instant he was rebounded by a tremendous force, and black flames appeared on his hand.

"Hmph!" Shijima Osamu sliced off the burning portion in a single cut, and a new hand grew back the very next second.

He furrowed his brow and lifted Shihoin Yoruichi up in his arms.

"Leave her to me. You all wait here for the Head Captain." Shijima Osamu departed swiftly.

Shihoin Yoruichi was on the verge of Hollowfication; if they delayed any longer, no one knew what might happen.

Moreover, Shihoin Yoruichi was a member of one of the Four Great Noble Houses.

If something happened to her, the entire Soul Society would be shaken.

"I say, Kuchiki Senya." Kyoraku Shunsui glanced at Kuchiki Senya.

"With strength like yours, why did you mingle with Aizen?" he asked further.

Kuchiki Senya said nothing; he turned and looked toward the horizon.

"Head Captain." Kuchiki Senya dropped to one knee.

Before the captains could even react, a figure suddenly appeared in the air; in less than in the blink of an eye, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni had appeared before them.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stared at Kuchiki Senya, raising the cane in his hand.

Xiong Xiong flames blazed, and the cane transformed into a Zanpakuto wreathed in firelight.

"Kuchiki Senya, you have betrayed Soul Society." Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stared coldly at Kuchiki Senya.

"I have my reasons." Kuchiki Senya shrugged and rose to his feet again.

"Boom!" A tremendous spiritual pressure suddenly appeared around Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.

Every Shinigami present broke out in a cold sweat; they had never experienced such killing intent in spiritual pressure before, and this let them deeply appreciate the spiritual pressure of the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years.

(Manoro's) mere release of spiritual pressure was enough to keep them from raising their heads.

"Captain-General, although I helped Aizen, I truly did it for Soul Society. If I hadn't lured him out, he might have remained hidden for many more years…"

"Enough!" Before Kuchiki Senya could finish explaining, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni swung his blade at Kuchiki Senya.

Kuchiki Senya looked at him calmly, not a trace of fear in his eyes.

Ryujin Jakka hovered above Kuchiki Senya's head, not advancing any further.

"Hot, hot, hot!" Only now did Kuchiki Senya react sluggishly, retreating two steps.

The Shinigami present were all terrified; if they had faced that blade, they would have long since been scared out of their wits.

And yet Kuchiki Senya could remain so calm?

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stared fixedly at Kuchiki Senya, and finally sighed.

"Rearrange the defenses, be on guard against Hollow invasion, strengthen the maintenance of the Human World!" he said coldly.

087. Secret Plan: Recovering the Hogyoku

The Shinigami were all stunned—was that it for Kuchiki Senya?

"But he…" Kyoraku Shunsui lowered his head.

He was always the teacher's best student. Although he usually seemed unreliable, his heart had always remained tied to the Captain-General.

"Are you questioning my decision?" Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni glanced over.

"This student wouldn't dare." Kyoraku Shunsui was uncharacteristically serious for once.

He kept his head lowered, lost in thought.

"Come with me." Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni glanced once more at Kuchiki Senya.

Kuchiki Senya shrugged; the flames of Ryujin Jakka had just curled his hair.

This really counts as a free styling session?

"Captain-General my lord, my brother, he…"

"I know what I'm doing." Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni gave Kuchiki Bai Zai no chance to speak.

Kuchiki Senya turned back and ruffled Kuchiki Bai Zai's black hair.

"Relax, old man Yamamoto won't do anything to me." With that, Kuchiki Senya left together with the Captain-General.

Kuchiki Bai Zai stared blankly at Kuchiki Senya's departing back.

Although he felt Kuchiki Senya's actions had damaged the family's honor, how could his life be without Kuchiki Senya?

"Big brother…" Kuchiki Bai Zai watched Kuchiki Senya leave.

Deep within the Seireitei, Kuchiki Senya appeared at Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's office.